Gift Your Time—Volunteer With Us

As a nonprofit, we rely on our volunteers to make our work and mission possible. We are extremely grateful for the amazing group of people who give their time and energy to help the studio run smoothly, keep our bike program on wheels, offer their talents in the office, and so much more.

To show our gratitude, we offer our volunteers a range of benefits, from discounts off class tuition, studio access,  specialty programming, and free entry to on- and off-site events. 

Apply to Volunteer
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Regular Shifts

Commit to a shift of four hours per week at a regularly scheduled time, assisting a Crucible staff person with work in the studio, office, tool room, and more.

Special Events

At our special events, we need support setting-up, tearing down, greeting guests, managing fire safety, art monitoring, registering people for classes, and more.

Youth & Community

Field trips, Bike Fix-A-Thons, earn-a-bike, special youth workshops, and open houses at The Crucible require volunteers with previous experience successfully interacting with youth and our community.

What Our Volunteers Have To Say

“I am so grateful to this incredible place for helping me rediscover why I keep pouring my soul into creating. Beyond that, the community here is amazing. At every turn, I found people excited to explain things and happy to teach their skills.”

-Mel Lidman

“Being hands-on here helps my personal work and improves my own ideas. In my twenty years as a mechanical engineer, the engineering profession kept me more hands-off — in meetings and behind a desk. It is refreshing to be in an environment that is actively hands-on.”

-Aaron Gebauer

“The Crucible takes volunteer work seriously and treats me as a member of the team. I think the level of care that gets put into the volunteer experience—in addition to the experiences students have—is pretty amazing.”

-Abisola Coretta

Last Year, Volunteers Made It Happen

317

317 active volunteers

733
733 completed shifts
43
Powered 43 Crucible events
89
89 volunteered for the first time

We Need Your Skills

In particular, we are looking for:

  • Bike Mechanics or people with bike maintenance skills. You can have a huge impact getting dozens of bikes fixed and back on the road for free for our neighbors.
  • Professional Photographers, Journalists, or Videographers to help document our classes and at special events. Interested photographers must be comfortable shooting with a digital camera and have a portfolio of past work to share.
  • People with office skills such as data entry, wordpress, filing and organizing, etc. Comfortability with computers is preferred!
  • People willing to commit as a Level 3 Volunteer in Foundry, Glass Coldworking, Bike Shop, Welding, Jewelry, and Leather or in the office as a Level 3 Volunteer in Marketing, Events, Adult Programs, or Volunteer Coordination.
  • People with day time availability.
  • People with experience working with youth.

Breakdown of Your Benefits

At The Crucible, we reward volunteers for their service with discounts off classes, studio access, and other valuable perks. We reserve the highest benefits for our most committed volunteers—see how your time will translate below. 

Level 1 Volunteers have completed Volunteer Orientation and have just started to volunteer at The Crucible. If you have not volunteered for over a year and recently participated in a volunteer orientation again, you are also considered Level 1.

Benefits:

Block time hours in the studio, tool room, or office are accrued at 1hr = 1% off class tuition to a maximum amount of 50% of tuition per transaction. Special Event shifts accrue at 10% per shift unless otherwise agreed upon.

Level 2 Volunteers regularly volunteer at The Crucible. They have volunteered more than one event and have completed up to six weeks of block time hours. Some youth volunteer shifts are also considered Level 2, depending on need.

Benefits:

Block time hours are accrued the same as Level 1, i.e. 1hr = 1% off class tuition to a maximum amount of 50% of tuition per transaction. But Special Event shifts are worth 15%, unless otherwise noted. Youth & Community Volunteers who volunteer during camps receive a 5-week class tuition waiver after volunteering for a full week of camps, i.e. fifteen hours.

Level 3 Volunteers have regularly volunteered for 12 weeks, have volunteered for 3 or more events per year, or are working with a particular Non-Departmental or Departmental area and have filled out the associated agreement.

Benefits:

Special Event shifts are accrued at 20%. If interested, Level 3 Volunteers can commit to a 60-hour agreement with one of our Department Heads or Office Managers in order to accrue more valuable benefits.

If you commit to 60-hours, you can:

  1. Gain Studio Access: Volunteer to support the Department Head in one of our 19 art departments. Level 3 Department Volunteers work directly in one specific studio area, and in return, gain access to their department area to work on their personal projects when it is not otherwise booked out. Studio access is reserved for Level 3 Volunteers in Departmental Areas exclusively.
    • Guidelines:
      • L3 Volunteers have free access to labs in their area as long as there is space availability.
      • L3 Volunteers cannot work on outside projects that require excessive usage of the facility without making arrangements with the Studio and Operations Manager.
      • L3 Volunteers do not have access to their departments during special events or use the facilities during any rehearsal or studio quiet times in preparation for an event.
  2. Get tuition waived on one 10-week class or two 5-week classes: This benefit can be chosen by both Departmental and Non-Departmental Level 3 Volunteers. Material fees are not waived. 
    • Guidelines:
      • Classes are based on availability and must be confirmed with the Registrar.
      • L3 Volunteer benefits cannot applied toward tuition until the 60 hours are completed.
      • L3 Volunteers may not register for a class until two weeks prior to the start date of that class, unless they are a member.  If a member, they may register at the start of general registration for the session.
      • L3 Volunteer hours you accrue must be used towards class within two years.  If the hours are not used within two years, they will become void. 
  3. Get a free 90-day CREATE membership: The 90-day CREATE membership can be chosen by both Departmental and Non-Departmental Level 3 Volunteers. Please note that the checkout fee is not waived.
    • Guidelines:
      • CREATE is only available in some studio areas—see which ones.
      • L3 Volunteers must pass checkout before being confirmed for CREATE.
      • L3 Volunteer hours you accrue during the time specified on this agreement must be used towards CREATE within two years.  If the hours are not used within two years, they will be voided. 

  • Volunteer hours and coupons may be combined for up to 100% off class tuition.
  • Volunteers can register using discounts at the start of general registration.
  • Volunteers are responsible for paying any class studio and material fees.
  • Volunteer hours may be donated to the scholarship fund or transferred to another individual with the Volunteer Coordinator and Program Manager’s prior approval. A Transfer of Volunteer Hours form must be signed to complete the transfer.
  • Volunteers can use hours to purchase a Crucible Membership. Our annual membership gets you 10% off class tuition for all classes for one year. Your membership can be combined with volunteer hours and coupons.
    • 25hrs = 1 year Firecracker Membership (one person)
    • 50hrs = 1 year Pyro Membership (up to 4 people)
  • Volunteer credits may NOT be combined with any other discounts or promotions, including but not limited to our educators, veterans, Open House, or Maker Month discounts.  The only exception is the Membership discount.
  • Volunteer hours and credits must be used within two years of accrual.
  • To purchase classes and/or membership using volunteer credits, call the registrar at 510-444-0919 x103 or email [email protected].

  • Transfer of volunteer hours must occur within the same year of the accrual of hours.
  • Volunteer benefits and discounts expire two years after the date of accrual.
  • Transfer of your benefits must happen within 3 months prior to the expiration date.
  • Transferred discounts and benefits expire according to the date of accrual. Discounts that are unused by that time are expired and cannot be redeemed.
  • Transfer of benefits (ie. hours) cannot be utilized to cover any court-mandated hours accrual.
  • Registration guidelines of the benefit remain the same for the recipient of the benefit. Please refer to the Volunteer Policy Manual for all pertinent information.
  • L3 Volunteer Benefits cannot be transferred as-is. Any transferred L3 Benefit will be re-calibrated as a 60% discount coupon.
  • Once a volunteer benefit has been transferred, it cannot be re-transferred or returned to the original volunteer.
  • Please expect up to two weeks for your transfer to be processed and entered in our hours accrual system. Plan accordingly.

Ready to Apply?

Staying Safe During COVID-19

The Crucible is observing strict guidelines for safety in the wake of Covid-19.

As of October 1, 2021, The Crucible will require all volunteers to be vaccinated and provide vaccination proof. The state of California is no longer accepting self-attestation waivers as proof of vaccination. Volunteers who do not already have their vaccination records on file will need to present a vaccination card or a photo of their vaccination card (with proof of ID), or a digital vaccination record (such as myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov, with a matching photo ID), before their first volunteer shift after October 1, 2021. Vaccinated individuals must show that they received their second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or a single dose of the J&J vaccine, at least 14 days before coming to The Crucible.

Volunteers who are exempt from COVID-19 vaccinations due to medical reasons or sincerely held religious beliefs must request an accommodation from vaccine requirements. This accommodation will be provided as a result of a letter to the Executive Director from your physician explaining that your medical condition prohibits receiving a vaccination, or a letter from your spiritual leader explaining that you have sincerely held religious beliefs that prohibit receiving a vaccine.

Those whose accommodation is upheld must take a COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours before checking in for activities at The Crucible, and present their negative results at the door as a condition of participation, every week, during the time they are active at The Crucible.COVID-19 test results must have been date and time-stamped by a known lab.

All entering the building will have to wear a 100% cotton mask, use hand sanitizer, have a contactless temperature check, use gloves, and answer a health questionnaire. Anyone with symptoms or high temperatures will not be admitted. You can see all health and safety policies in place for our youth and adult classes here. Protecting the safety of our staff, faculty, students, and volunteers is of the utmost importance. Anyone who knowingly violates any of our health and safety policies is putting our community unnecessarily at risk and will not be able to participate in future programming at The Crucible until safety concerns around COVID-19 have subsided.

HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES